


Ara Origins

by Osci



Category: Monster Hunter (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Osci/pseuds/Osci





	Ara Origins

The desert was a trial in and of itself. The vastest waste Ara'd ever laid eyes upon. Even the sea, where she grew up, had more to it than the lifeless dunes. Carcasses of dead animals were found between the waves of sand. The heat was robbing her of her senses.

Get to the moving city, the farmer said. You will see it eventually. If you can't, you aren't looking far enough.

She set out that cold winter night without looking back.

Her cloak wept in the wind, sand covering her boots as she walked across the barren, dead place. She had made it past the sea, past the forest beyond, even the mountains. All her effort ended up in the desert. Always one step behind the city.

She was longing for water. Anything, really. Her soul was close to leaving her frail body, she could feel it.

Looking around once more, her matted red hair caught in front of her sight. She moved it out of the way, just enough to see something.

Someone.

She wanted to cry for help, but her voice was near gone. All she could give was a weak whine towards the stranger's direction.

She fell to her knees. Was she finally safe? Her whole journey had been void of contact. The only times she dared to approach someone was for directions to the city. All but one had no idea. The one who did, sent her out to the desert of death and decay.

She closed her eyes, not willing herself to shed tears as she watched the person come closer and closer, cape covering their body entirely.

It was something she hated, relying on others. But she was a dead man walking, and without this person, she would make her death less tragic by digging her own grave with the energy she had left and dying right inside of it instead of making the sand cover her bones overtime.

He never said a word, that man. Just gave her a flask of water which she clung onto for dear life as she drank, and helped her up. He beckoned her once, and she followed after regaining her strength somewhat.

They traversed the dunes, the sandstorms, and even a pack of dead herbivores, succumbed to the scorch of the star glaring down at them. It lasted for a week, counting the sunrises. During night time, he always made a tiny fire and gave her dried meat. She wondered about him, but didn't pry. When she slept, he kept watch. When she woke up, he was ready to move once more.

They fell into a routine. No more confused glances, she just knew what he meant. It was the fourteenth sundown when she saw something at the horizon.

Lights. Many of them.

After all this time, the struggle and near death, she found it.

Val Habar. He knew her desire to get to the moving city.

She wanted to scream of joy, but doing so would've alerted a Tigrex, or worse, a Diablos. She was so close and didn't want to throw all of her effort away by becoming a sad meal for a struggling predator. She had already seen a broken stone pillar, pierced by the horns of the sand king, Diablos.

She longed for the city, but it was still a considerable distance away.

The stranger was setting up camp, laying out the blanket he'd let her use to rest on for the past two weeks. He expertly made a fire with the sheer amount of sticks left in his bag, and carefully sat down on a damaged rock to watch the sky like he always did.

She gave herself a brief moment to count the stars, before her eyes succumbed to her fatigue, and she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

When she came to, the man was still sitting on the stone, gazing at the horizon. He had removed one of his gloves, and she saw a hand that missed two fingers. She wondered if this person was a hunter, like she was aiming to be.

He stood up, having noticed how she was awake, and held out his now gloved hand out to her. She accepted the gesture, picking up the linen cloth during her rise.

They silently continued the walk. Val Habar was close.

She wanted to thank him. But, after all this time spent together wordlessly, it seemed almost cursed to speak. Who was this man, and why had he offered help just like that? She was dead weight. They had to stop at an oasis because they'd ran out of water. It was surprising he knew the way like the entire desert was his back pocket.

-

They arrived after 3 hours of paced walking. Her legs were killing her, and she dropped to her knees on the hastily paved road of the merchants town.

She was finally here. It was incredibly lively for a place in the middle of a hazardous environment. People were chatting, drinking, buying things. Everything was as she dreamed.

She looked up and around, but the man was already gone.

Standing, she turned, frantically trying to catch a glimpse of her guide. It was hopeless. The mass of people was overbearing her sight, and she slumped. He made sure she was safe, and well taken care of. He never wanted anything in return.

Ara hoped to be half as good as him one day.

She had looked for him, asked about him. His description fit too many people, though. So it was pointless.

She could only keep an eye out for him in the future.


End file.
